Chapter 19: The Depot and Guard are Fierce

"You bastard!

I am an official appointed by the imperial court; how dare you..."

"Slap!"

Before he could finish speaking, he received a big slap in the face.

The people of the Eastern Depot proved with practical actions that imperial court officials have no deterrent power here.

"Audacious, this official is a Ding Yushi of the current dynasty.

Aren't you afraid of the imperial court's punishment for acting so recklessly?"

The middle-aged official asked while enduring the pain.

The Depot and Guard running rampant across the world was a matter of decades ago.

Since the civil official group grew larger, imperial power has been restricted, and the Depot and Guard's actions have become more orderly.

Correspondingly, their deterrent power has also had a downward trend.

"Haha..."

"Imperial court official, you won't be one for long.

Upon investigation, Right Assistant Ding Yushi-in-Chief Xie Wenyu has been corrupt, breaking the law, monopolizing lawsuits, and harming loyal officials...

Lord Xie, come with us for a trip!"

The mocking words of the Eastern Depot's file head made Xie Wenyu, who was in a rage, instantly sober up.

The Eunuch faction has started to counterattack!

The worst thing is that they have targeted him.

"These are all nonsense; this official is upright and unyielding; how could I engage in illegal activities!"

Xie Wenyu immediately argued.

These charges cannot be admitted; otherwise, even if a Grand Secretary of the current dynasty came forward in person, he couldn't be saved.

As long as he doesn't plead guilty, the Pure Stream party members outside will run around for him.

If he withstands the pressure and walks out of the imperial prison, he will be a hero in the eyes of the literati.

If he is lucky, he might become one of the spiritual leaders of the Pure Stream party and rise rapidly from then on.

"Hehe, Lord Xie, you are truly not giving up until you see the Yellow River!

There are so many civil and military officials in the court; if we didn't have enough evidence, would we come to find you?

If your memory is bad, I'll help you recall.

Lord Xie was a third-rank Jinshi in the first year of Tianyuan, and in just six years, you reached the high position of Right Assistant Ding Yushi-in-Chief.

With such great imperial grace, Lord Xie does not think of repaying the monarch's kindness; it is truly infuriating.

We won't talk about the distant things; how should the 15,000 mu of fertile land added to Lord Xie's family be explained?"

Once the specific number came out, Xie Wenyu instantly realized that something was wrong.

Although he came from a gentry family, his family background was not thick. In order to support his studies, he once sold a lot of paddy fields.

In the imperial court, he has always been a representative of the children of humble families.

The salaries of officials in the Great Dayu Dynasty are notoriously low.

It is simply impossible to accumulate such a large family business in just a few years.

Except for a portion of the land that was accepted for affiliation by fellow villagers, the rest of the land was obtained through abnormal means.

Using the means of affiliating land to evade taxes in Great Dayu is also an illegal act.

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could my Xie family have so much land? It must be someone framing me!"

Xie Wenyu denied it flatly.

Reason told him that at this time, he must hold on.

"If you feel wronged, then go to the imperial prison to explain.

The people inside love to entertain hard bones the most; I hope Lord Xie can be hard to the end!"

It was not just Xie Wenyu who was arrested; the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard acted simultaneously, and the Pure Stream party members who had been making the most noise were thrown into prison one after another.

Nancheng Thousand-Household Office.

"Lord Thousand-Household, the Eastern Depot has sent a batch of families of criminal officials and requested us to detain them on their behalf!"

Hearing this news, Li Mu did not feel surprised.

In recent days, the Depot and Guard have been arresting people, and the imperial prison is already overcrowded.

Except for the direct relatives of the officials, ordinary maids and servants have no qualifications to enter the imperial prison.

The Shuntian Prefecture and the Dali Temple are the territory of the Pure Stream party members; the Eunuch faction naturally cannot send people back to them.

Yesterday, the Xicheng Thousand-Household Office received a batch of families of criminal officials, and now it is the turn of the Nancheng Thousand-Household Office.

"Tell the people who came that we only provide prison cells; other matters have nothing to do with us!"

Li Mu said calmly.

The actions of the Eunuch faction have brought everyone back to the era dominated by the Depot and Guard.

Countless officials were so frightened that they were trembling; it is said that some people wrote their wills before going to court.

It is not that the Pure Stream party members did not launch a counterattack, but unfortunately, the Emperor did not attend court in recent days, and the impeachment memorials were suppressed by the Directorate of Ceremonial.

The memorials were submitted in the morning, and the people went in in the afternoon.

Once they entered the imperial prison, their status became that of criminal officials, and the previous impeachment memorials directly became waste paper.

"My Lord, the Eastern Depot is powerful now; isn't it bad to refuse like this!"

The clerk advised tactfully.

The sharp counterattack of the Eunuch faction not only stunned the Pure Stream party members but also frightened countless neutralists.

"If I don't express my attitude, are you going to help them guard and interrogate the prisoners?

Don't forget that among these families of criminal officials sent over, there are a large number of old, weak, women, and children; can you guarantee that no accidents will happen after entering the prison?"

Li Mu asked back in a huff.

This Clerk Yan in front of him clearly did not position himself correctly.

The Eastern Depot is indeed terrifying, but he is a clerk of the Wucheng Military Commission; he must first stand with the Wucheng Military Commission.

Once some things are touched, they cannot be shaken off.

The Eunuch faction and the Pure Stream are fighting so fiercely, and the noble group is clearly going to be neutral.

As a force in the noble camp, the Wucheng Military Commission is naturally neutral.

Getting close to the Eastern Depot at this time only represents a personal stance.

It would be fine if nothing happened, but once a change occurred, they might be classified into the Eunuch faction camp.

The Eunuch faction is powerful now; sticking this label on might lead to a rapid rise in the short term.

But in political games, there has never been a general who always wins.

"My Lord is joking; such a big matter, how could this humble official bear it.

The Eastern Depot is vengeful; this humble official is just worried about offending them and bringing disaster to my Lord!"

After listening to Clerk Yan's explanation, Li Mu's expression eased slightly.

In addition to recruiting children of the nobility, the Wucheng Military Commission also recruits some scholars to serve as clerks to handle miscellaneous matters in the yamen.

These people come from humble backgrounds, do not understand the situation in the court well enough, and their political sensitivity is usually lower.

If it were a child of the nobility, facing the people of the Eastern Depot, he would definitely not be so cowardly.

As long as the high-level Eunuch faction has a normal brain, they will not come to provoke the nobility while fighting the civil official group.

Daring to strike hard at the Pure Stream party members is because these guys are all scholars, and their combat value is seriously insufficient.

If the nobles who hold military power were forced into the Pure Stream camp, then the situation would be reversed.

Civil officials are responsible for providing moral endorsement, and military generals are responsible for killing; even the Emperor could be pulled off his horse.

In history, there has been more than one coup to kill eunuchs.

It is precisely because of the lessons from the past that before releasing the eunuch, this vicious tiger, Emperor Tianyuan specifically consulted the opinions of the nobility first.

The current situation is essentially the result of the Emperor and the nobility jointly pushing the waves to suppress the civil official group.

"Don't worry, this official knows what he is doing.

Remember to convey my words just now without missing a word.

If the people from the Eastern Depot have any opinions, let them go talk to the Marquis of Wuyang; we are just acting on orders!"

Not knowing that Li Mu was shifting the blame upward, the originally uneasy Clerk Yan instantly came back to life.

The Marquis of Wuyang is a big, thick thigh; with this imperial relative at the front, no matter how arrogant the Eastern Depot is, they wouldn't dare to act recklessly.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 20 =====